Wolf's Clothing
by Fenix Fireheart
Summary: A modern, gay twist on Beauty and the Beast, with some elements taken from a few different versions, mixed in with my own ideas.
1. Mother Love

Author's Note: Hiya! This is a short story I'm working on for my Creative Writing class, and I thought I'd post it here to get some opinions on what I could do to make this better. However, I warn you. If you don't like m/m couples, then don't read it. This is a fairy tale retold with a gay twist on it. And please don't leave nasty comments about homosexuality. It'll just piss me, and other readers, off.

Wolf's Clothing

Sebastian was lost. That was the only word he could use to describe his current state. No, on second thought, he was lost, freezing, hungry, thirsty, and possibly near death. Was this truly some divine punishment, just for being who he was? Who he was born to be? He silently curled up beneath a bare tree, its gnarled roots barely any shelter from the blistering winds and snow battering his half-covered face. Resting for the moment, he thought back on the events that had transpired earlier that same day…

_Sebastian was in a candle-lit room, faded stones glimmering dully in the weak light. Behind him was a wall of silky warmth. He slowly turned in the strong arms around him, gently pressing his face into the calescent chest. His arms slithered up to cradle a thick, muscular neck covered in hot, honey-smooth skin. No, not skin… fur? He nervously, reluctantly, turned his face upward, and saw-_

Sebastian was brutally torn from sleep, snapping up in bed. Panting a little from the frightful dream, he glanced out his window to find a gentle snow falling outside.

He was safe at home, in his twin sized bed, cocooned in his black and white sheets. But the dream, nightmare more like, had seemed so _real_. Shaking off his aimless fright, Sebastian tossed the sheets aside and got up to dress for another day in Paradise, Canada.

Sebastian supposed Paradise was okay. It'd been a year year, almost, since he and his mom, Angelica, had moved to Paradise, Canada. A small town, it had a population of about two hundred people. Unfortunately, it snowed so hard here during the winter season, going outside was impossible without running into an eight foot wall of snow. The weather channel, in all its murmuring, static words, had said a blizzard was expected later that day.

The people were friendly enough, though, maybe a bit too religious. Well, too religious for him anyway. Since tenth grade, Sebastian had become fully aware of his sexuality, his attraction to other males. Once he'd discovered his preference, after having none until that point, he found himself satisfied with it. He'd even been able to turn some boys' heads back home with his cloud grey eyes and apple-flesh white skin. Sebastian's hopes for his first relationship with Aaron, a member of the football team, had been dashed when he'd been forced to move from Vancouver.

It had been so hard, still was, when he couldn't tell anyone; not even his mother. If his secret ever got out… he didn't know what would happen.

"Nothing good for sure", he said to himself.

The only person who knew was his best friend, Todd, whom he'd had to leave behind in Vancouver. Todd had always been an accepting person, and hadn't minded in the least that Sebastian was gay. But Fate would have none of that. He and his mother were evicted from their home. After her losing her job as a newspaper editor's secretary, they had been forced to move from their barely existing home, to the barely existing town of Paradise.

He loved his mother, would do anything for her, but he knew that if she found out about him, the consequences might be dire. Thank god for email passwords, or she'd be able to read everything he'd ever sent to Todd over the dial-up on their ancient Macintosh.

Pushing these foreboding thoughts away, he dressed in his usual prison gray jeans, plain gray v-neck sweater, and slightly darker gray socks and boots. Looking at the clock, he saw he had about twenty minutes before school began, and it was only a five minute walk. He had enough time to email Todd.

Flipping on the computer, which took up about half his time, he typed a quick email to Todd, who always checked for Sebastian's letters before school. When he was done and the progress bar told him the email had been sent, he clicked the 'Shut down' button with barely a glance. Grabbing his backpack of obscene mustard yellow, the only thing of real color he owned, he headed out the door…

Six hours later, Sebastian walked through the door and paused for a moment at the solid wall of oppressive silence that greeted him. His mother didn't start work until 5:00 p.m. She was normally making dinner and humming La Vie en Rose, her favorite song, in the kitchen, or watching the snowy television. Now there was nothing. Setting the hideous mustard colored pack on the kitchen table, he wandered into the livingroom… and stopped short. His mother was sitting at the computer desk, the screen throwing eerie shadows over her face, outlining every normally invisible line and wrinkle in her skin. She looked like one of Hades' harpies in Greek mythology. And when she turned to him, her light brown eyes, which had always looked at him with love, were burning lanterns of rage.

It took a moment for Sebastian to realize that, in his rush to school, he'd forgotten to 'Okay' the 'Shut down?" window that always popped up, even though it had already recieved the command to sleep. In that moment, Sebastian hated his computer so much; he wished it'd expolde into billions of glass shards and bits of wire.

"Mom, I-"

"Shut up!", she screeched, arrows of sound piercing his ears.

He could feel the waves of her rage engulfing the room now as she stood up from the desk chair. This was when the first few jolts of real fear spurred through his body, replacing his rage for the computer. She approached slowly, her hands hooked into harpy claws.

"I _raised_ you better than _this_! _This_ is how you _repay me_!?"

"Mom, calm down, it's not a big deal…"

Those were the wrong words, he realized, when she roared, "NOT A BIG DEAL!? This _IS_ a big deal! No son of _mine_ will be a FAGGOT!!"

Her words cut him, a lightning strike in his mind's bark. Before he could open his mouth to respond, she was in front of him, swinging her hand with demonic speed. Her blazing pink nails first hit his skin's surface, gracefully breaking and ripping the soft tissue, tearing four jagged lines into Sebastian's cheek.

Sebastian fell back against the wall to the right of the doorway. He saw motion in the corner of his eye, and glanced to his reflection in the wall mirror. Four angry scrawls wept bright crimson, adding morbid color to his pale cheek. And in the mirror, he saw a fist aimed for his face, coming in slow motion. He turned his head, but wasn't able to move himself quick enough before his mother's knuckles made contact with his left eye.

Sebastian let out a yelp as the bony hand connected with his face. Sliding down the wall to the floor, he opened his uninjured eye and focused on his mother's twisted face, her distorted mouth breathing a firestorm of awful words on him as she drew back her pink-and-green pump to kick his ribs. Instinctually, Sebastian lashed his hand out and grasped her ankle, catching her off balance.

"Oomph!", Angela grunted when she hit the floor, the breath wooshing out of her.

The moment she was down, Sebastian scrambled to his feet and stumbled out the front door. Snow was just beginning to fall as he made for the woods at the border of the dead end street…

And that's how he'd wound up here. After wandering the woods for a good two hours without stopping, the predicted storm had escalated into slashing winds  
and burning snow. Sebastian lifted his hand to his torn cheek and grazed his fingers over the etches his mother had left. They barely stung, now that the numbness of  
hypothermia had begun to set in.

Pushing himself to his feet, the wayward teen stumbled onward, running from the pain behind him toward an uncertain future…


	2. God Help Me

Well, here it is at last! I know the end of this chapter kind of sucks, but I promise more interaction between the two of them next chapter. Enjoy, my lovelies.

* * *

As Sebastian stumbled forward, he kept his head down and pushed against the wind. It was like trying to butt heads with a bull. He forged ever onward in a straight line, not knowing where he was going, nor if there was any place near getting to, and by his second hour of walking, he had decided he would die here in the middle of some god forsaken woods in the middle of a blizzard.

It was during this morbid brooding over his death that he ran head first into something cold and metallic. Nearly falling into the snow, the boy rubbed his head where it had hit a large metal gate. It loomed over him, guarding a mansion one or two hundred yards beyond the frigid metal guard. He found the lock was rusted and weak, and using what little strength he had, he knocked it loose.

He didn't care who lived there, or how they would react to his knocking on their door; all he knew was that this was his only chance to survive, if it wasn't too late already (seeing as he couldn't feel anything from the cold, and undoubtedly had frostbite). Sebastian's vision was starting to fade in and out, blurring things together. He'd barely made it to the front door when he passed out; falling against the solid oaken doors with a loud thump…

***

He slowly regained consciousness, and it took him a moment to piece together he was in a bed, completely naked, in what he assumed to be the mansion he'd fallen in front of. Sebastian opened his eyes and examined his surroundings.

The room was painted dark crimson, and smelled faintly like apple pie. A fireplace took up most of the wall opposite his bed, a fire roaring and illuminating the various serpents and lizards carved into the dark wood. The huge quilt covering him was black, matching the carpet and drapes. It was altogether simple, but elegant, and very, very warm.

Speaking of warmth, Sebastian was reminded of his few hours in the blizzard, and lifted the covers to check himself for any frost damage. Luckily, there wasn't any visible injury, aside from those inflicted by his mother. With all limbs accounted for, Sebastian grew curious as to who the owner of the mansion might be. He had to thank them for their kindness.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, the boy dressed in a red silk bathrobe (since he could find no clothes in the bedroom) and stepped out into a long hallway. To his right were a set of stairs, to the left were more doors. He opted to go downstairs, hoping to find someone in the house; being alone in such a huge place was disconcerting.

But after wandering through a parlor, kitchen, and two dining rooms, he could find no one. The house was in perfect order, no dust or cobwebs, so someone had to live there, right?

He found himself in an enormous ballroom, with a polished marble floor, and old fashioned chandeliers with candles in the holders. Columns outlined each side of the room, while the entire ceiling was made of glass. He couldn't see anything but snow through the giant window.

Though he was captivated by the beauty of the room, he tore himself away, searching for someone. The silence of the house was unnerving, and if he didn't know better, he would swear he was in the mansion from Resident Evil. He stifled the paranoia building up inside him, but just barely.

Sebastian's room had been on the eastern side of the house, and half an hour later, he found himself in the west wing. This side of the mansion was in some disrepair. The first and second floor were normal looking, but when he ascended a staircase to the third floor, he stared down the gloomy hallway in disturbed fascination.

The walls, once covered in cheery, light green wallpaper, were peeling, and some places seemed to have been slashed apart. Four gilded mirrors hung on the walls, each of them smashed, while a fifth lay with its glass side against the floor. There was almost no light, save the dim wall sconce at the end of the hall just above a scarred up ebony door. Against his better judgment, Sebastian walked down the hall.

As he avoided the broken glass on the floor, he saw that the doors were as badly clawed as the walls, especially the last one. He twisted the knob and winced at the squeak that knifed through the air as the loose hinges swung the door open wide.

The room's furnishings lay in pieces on the floor, some covered with layers of dust while others seemed more recent. Paintings and curtains were ripped, more glass was scattered in the middle of the room; French doors stood ajar on the opposite side, leading out to a balcony. All of this was illuminated by an orb of white light, which floated above a black marble table, carved wolf men holding up the disk of the table top.

Sebastian approached the orb, finding it to resemble a gibbous moon, as there was a crescent of shadow at the very edge of the orb. He marveled at the strange object until he heard heavy footfalls out on the balcony, coupled with a strange clicking, like that of a large dog. The French doors burst open, and Sebastian's mind slowed down, trying to process what it was seeing.

Before him stood a growling wolf man, at least eight feet tall, gray fur bristling and teeth bared. The boy backed away, the monstrosity followed. Each of the wolf's steps equaled three of Sebastian's. Epinephrine kicked through his system, and he took off through the still open door back into the wrecked hallway.

He ran and ran, falling down stairs, hitting support beams, blindly seeking an escape. He'd made it to the front door, panicked mind forgetting he was only wearing a robe, when the beast dropped from somewhere outside and landed in front of Sebastian. He began to black out, and all he could think was _pleasepleasepleasedon'thurtme._

***

He awoke in the same room as before, and for a moment, Sebastian was relieved that it had all been a dream. Until he sat up and saw the wolf man standing next to the fireplace. A scream threatened to escape his throat, but he held it in, hoping that the animal wouldn't attack if he just kept quiet. Maybe it would just stand and stare.

An entire minute passed by before the beast opened its great jaws and asked in a low, gravelly voice, "So, what's your name?"

Sebastian's shriek of terror echoed through the whole house.


End file.
